Concrete Jungle

Sup Party People!

So, New York was awesome!!  Most of you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, so you've seen those pics. 

I arrived Wednesday.  After getting settled in, Katy and I took off on foot to conquer the city!  Katy lives in Manhattan, which is an island.  Boom.  She lives in "Hell's Kitchen"... obvi, I didn't complain.  We walked through Times Square, and Bryant Park.  In the winter, Bryant Park is surrounded by little shops, that surround an ice rink... while we were there, many were working to put up their shop, and the rink was being assembled.  We walked by the library, very pretty!  And popped into (and... sadly... out of) Zara.  We walked all around Grand Central Station and grabbed a bite to eat there.  It was fab! That evening, we took a cab to Chelsea Piers and caught a boat for our City Lights Cruise.  That was fun!  It was definitely half couples, half girls.  Chelsea Piers is? are? pretty neat.  There is a BIG gym... I want to say it's called CITY SPORTS, but I might be confused with something someone's t shirt said... regardless, it's an all indoor facility, with courts and fields and different floors for your preferred sport.  This is also where Suri Cruise takes gymnastics class.  Our boat left the dock at 8:30, and we returned 10:30 ish.  We sailed out into the Hudson, down the coast of Manhattan (Jersey on the other side) towards the East River and Governor's Island.  We circled the Statue of Liberty (total girl crush, I love her!), and made our way back to the dock.  This skyline is the one you usually see when seeing the New York Skyline... complete with Freedom Tower (there are 2, does that other one have a name?).  It was a little chilly, and windy!  But the boat was totally prepared with lots of blankets and booze.

Thursday, we got up and headed back to Times Square.  We walked through on our way to Central Park, and then walked through Central Park!  We walked down 5th ave to Rockefeller Plaza, that ice rink was already up and buzzing with ice dancers!! We walked by the NBC studios and was halted at 50th and 6th for the President!!  How cool is that?!  He (and his entourage) was leaving Hofstra (and the debates).  He was just sitting in the back seat, eyes forward.  Very cool!  Thursday night we hit the town.  We began at 675 in the Meat Packing District, then jumped to Gray Lady in another district (?), we tried to continue the party at a couple of other bars but it appeared most of New York City had turned in for the night.

Friday, we were up and ready to shop! We went to Tribeca to eat at Sarabeth's, then hit the streets of Soho for an afternoon of shopping!  We saved enough money for a trip on the Subway to the Brooklyn Bridge (on the Manhattan side).  We made the walk across the bridge into Brooklyn (duh, right?), it felt like a right of passage! Then, we had pizza at Grimaldi's, it was the best pizza I've ever had!  I think Brooklyn Bridge and Grimaldi's were my favorite part of the trip :)

Saturday, we were up early for The Far Hills Races in New Jersey.  This race, more commonly referred to as The Hunt, is considered a kick off to the Breeders Cup.  It's a steeplechase, which I had never seen before!  The day would better be described as a tailgate... our group had a plot with about 300 others, and at 3:30 we were instructed to be back at the bus.  It was a long day for sure! But the weather was perfect!

Sunday, we got up and headed to Times Square for some Broadway tickets.  We chose Bring It On as our poison and am so glad we saw it, it was FABULOUS!  I recommend it!  I know it's been at the Fox, so hopefully the show is traveling to a town near you, or just head to NY! Der.  We grabbed brunch at Justin Timberlake's restaurant, Southern Hospitality and had ANOTHER celeb siting!  James Marsden came in after us and sat at the bar.  He's as cute in person! I recognize him the most from 27 Dresses, but I think he's in Cheaper By The Dozen, and a bunch of TV shows (30 Rock, right now?).  Sunday night we had dinner at Katz's Deli in the lower east side.  This place was so cool! THE scene in "When Harry Met Sally" was filmed there (I'll have what she's having).

The trip was accompanied my multiple taxi rides (I'm a pro!) and two very easy flights!  I'd like to thank my hostess with the mostess and the great state of NY for having me!

Pics to come, or see them again on Twitter and Instagram.

TGIF! Have a great weekend.

HB

Apparently it's Pedro's 7th birthday!  We don't really know his exact birthdate, but he was a kitten at Halloween time in 05, and he was somewhere around six weeks around Thanksgiving...

Happy Birthday, Big Guy!

New York on Wednesday!

HERO RUN RE-CAP

Workouts this week: NOTHING! WOO!

Well, it's been 6 days since the 1st Annual Hero Run!  Did you think I died?  Well, I almost did.  Not literally, just being dramatic.  My splits are on my Garmin, so I will add those later... I had 1 negative split, I think miles 7 and 8.  Listen to me and all my technical running stuff.  It was a very successful race for a 1st Annual.  And I'm not just saying that because Mary Lou Retton Rybicki was a contributor.  All monies raised went to the Wounded Warrior Project, and I raised $700 for the 1LT Robert Wilson Collins Patriot Spirit Scholarship.  My Run For Rob teammates will be hitting the Soldier Marathon in a month.. Such a GREAT cause, and again, I'm honored to a part of this group. Anywho, back to my very credible race re-cap/review I was mildly annoyed that there were no chips, but I had my time on my watch.  It's just that sometimes often times the chip time is faster.  And that's always a great thing!  Purely selfish.  And, my watch said the path was 13.5 miles, so I was always ahead of the mile markers.  Not a huge problem, only mental. I also heard the same from a few other runners.  So, I guess my PR isn't quite official.  But it is.  So there.

My time at 13.1 was 2:13:07.  Good for an almost 2 min PR.  I was itching to beat 2:10, but could easily blame the above chip and path issues... However, I'm aware I died around mile 11, therefore missed my goal.  But that's O-freaking-K... life goes on, like in Feb. in AZ... I'm coming for you sub 2:10.  I will have some help from my Chicago-Marathon-Killing-Boston-Marathon-Qualifying friend.  If I'm REALLY nice, he'll design my training program.. I'm not even scared, he only runs 3x a week.  So, obvi, he knows what he's doing!! Anyway, on to pics!  YAY pics!

Pit stop.

Trying to stay warm!

 

Waiting at the start...

The top pic of this collage was my favorite part.
Nice touch Hero Run race committee!

I did a little bit of running, too.
See that pretty lady in the pink?  That's my mom.
She ran the last 5K with me and provided mental CPR.
Thanks Mom!

The hardware.
 

I'd like to thank my Mom (my race crew).  And others that were there cheering me on... All of the Rybickis, Amanda and Joe.  You guys rock.  I'd also like to thank those who donated and/or considered donating.  I appreciate your time and your consideration, and you!

TGIF! GO CARDS!

HERO RUN

Hero Run Half Marathon. Tomorrow. Go.

(I'm a woman of few words... I'll see you Monday.)